7 ms·

This brings up a question: does Trump own the American Treasury? I see the PM of my country at Starbucks sometimes and he looks like any other office drone but

This brings up a question: does Trump own the American Treasury? I see the PM of my country at Starbucks sometimes and he looks like any other office drone but he makes billion euro decisions every day.

mcherm 8y ago
> does Trump own the American Treasury? Depends on what you mean by "own". I would use "able to decide how it is used". So I would say that Mark Zuckerberg "owns" Facebook because he has a controlling interest (although he does not own 100% of the stock). I would say that Donald Trump does not "own" the US Treasury because our form of government contains checks and balances.
- dcdanko 8y ago
  Still not applicable to Trump because the U.S. Congress has power of the purse, not the President.
  - craftyguy 8y ago
    Not true, the president can declare an 'emergency' and circumvent Congress.
    - amdavidson 8y ago
      Referring to no specific case in particular: that is not a circumvention but an application of the authority that Congress delegated to the President in the National Emergencies Act. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Emergencies_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Emergencies_Act
      - craftyguy 8y ago
        https://www.dictionary.com/browse/circumvent https://www.dictionary.com/browse/circumvent
peteretep 8y ago
> does Trump own the American Treasury No, Congress controls that, and they're elected by the American people, who ultimately own it. Here's a more interesting example: https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/resources/faqs/ https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/resources/faqs/ > The Crown Estate belongs to the reigning monarch 'in right of The Crown', that is, it is owned by the monarch for the duration of their reign, by virtue of their accession to the throne. But it is not the private property of the monarch - it cannot be sold by the monarch, nor do revenues from it belong to the monarch.
- vntok 8y ago
  > No, Congress controls that, and they're elected by the American people, who ultimately own it. Trump is also elected by the American people, though, right?
  - Kye 8y ago
    States elect the president. The people vote on the electors who represent their state in the electoral college.
  - pjc50 8y ago
    Trick question: he's elected by the Electoral College. Which is why he's president despite recieving fewer votes than the other candidate, because it's not a direct election but a delegate system.
    - Frondo 8y ago
      For those haven't heard, there are plans underway to change that, too. Check out the National Popular Vote movement: https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/ https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/ They're more than halfway there. I'm all in favor of the movement, and am holding out hope we'll see it click into place in the next decade or so.
      - Frondo 8y ago
pjc50 8y ago
No? I mean, there are countries where the President personally controls the Treasury, and you can usually spot them by the enourmous statutes and portraits of the Leader.

mcherm 8y ago

> does Trump own the American Treasury? Depends on what you mean by "own". I would use "able to decide how it is used". So I would say that Mark Zuckerberg "owns" Facebook because he has a controlling interest (although he does not own 100% of the stock). I would say that Donald Trump does not "own" the US Treasury because our form of government contains checks and balances.

dcdanko 8y ago
Still not applicable to Trump because the U.S. Congress has power of the purse, not the President.
- craftyguy 8y ago
  Not true, the president can declare an 'emergency' and circumvent Congress.
  - amdavidson 8y ago
    Referring to no specific case in particular: that is not a circumvention but an application of the authority that Congress delegated to the President in the National Emergencies Act. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Emergencies_Act https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Emergencies_Act
    - craftyguy 8y ago
      https://www.dictionary.com/browse/circumvent https://www.dictionary.com/browse/circumvent

peteretep 8y ago

> does Trump own the American Treasury No, Congress controls that, and they're elected by the American people, who ultimately own it. Here's a more interesting example: https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/resources/faqs/ https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/resources/faqs/ > The Crown Estate belongs to the reigning monarch 'in right of The Crown', that is, it is owned by the monarch for the duration of their reign, by virtue of their accession to the throne. But it is not the private property of the monarch - it cannot be sold by the monarch, nor do revenues from it belong to the monarch.

vntok 8y ago
> No, Congress controls that, and they're elected by the American people, who ultimately own it. Trump is also elected by the American people, though, right?
- Kye 8y ago
  States elect the president. The people vote on the electors who represent their state in the electoral college.
- pjc50 8y ago
  Trick question: he's elected by the Electoral College. Which is why he's president despite recieving fewer votes than the other candidate, because it's not a direct election but a delegate system.
  - Frondo 8y ago
    For those haven't heard, there are plans underway to change that, too. Check out the National Popular Vote movement: https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/ https://www.nationalpopularvote.com/ They're more than halfway there. I'm all in favor of the movement, and am holding out hope we'll see it click into place in the next decade or so.
    - Frondo 8y ago

pjc50 8y ago

No? I mean, there are countries where the President personally controls the Treasury, and you can usually spot them by the enourmous statutes and portraits of the Leader.